John M. Clum is Professor of English and Professor of the Practice of Theater at Duke University. Among his books are Still Acting Gay: Male Homosexuality in Modern Drama, Something for the Boys: Musical Theater and Gay Culture, and He's All Man: Learning Masculinity, Gayness and Love from American Movies.

The American dramatist Edward Albee, whose career flourished in the 1960s and then waned as a result of homophobia, wrote plays with gay subtexts in which loving is the ultimate act of violence and violence is the most effective expression of love.

The musical has been a significant aspect of American gay male culture, manifesting itself both in diva worship and, more recently, in the presentation of openly gay characters and shows written by gay writers primarily for gay audiences.